Tag Archives: Leather Furniture Buying Guide

Many of our items are made to order, and sometimes customers just need their new leather furniture as quickly as possible. With our introduction of the leather furniture line from Leather Italia, we’ve answered!

Leather Italia's Baron Leather Sofa

Quoting the CEO of Leather Italia USA:

Starting in 1996, a vision was born and a company formed to assure the finest quality of leather furniture available in the market place. With years of experience, our staff, tanneries, and manufacturing partners have personally assured every level of premium quality. Today, Leather Italia USA is recognized nationally as a leader and has partnered with the finest retailers in the world to offer our incredible selections. It is with confidence and excitement that we welcome you to our family of champions, “I promise to make a difference”.

-Michael Campbell, President / CEO

Leather Italia offers a range of well built leather furniture styles, and keeps them “In the Barn” (In-Stock) for quick shipping, in most cases leaving the factory warehouse in just 3-5 days.

We recently added the line of Lane Leather Furniture here at LeatherGroups.com and we’re already in full gear with customer orders and our process for getting swatches out to everyone quickly.

The Leather Furniture manufactured by Lane offers great value at a great price point. Besides being Made in America (which we love), features like quality frames and Lane’s C3 pocketed coil seat cushions deliver performance and comfort.

Lane is the largest motion leather furniture line in the US, so besides a great roundup of stationary leather sofas and sectionals, you’ll find a great selection of reclining leather furniture and leather home theater furniture, including really unique features such as their swivel recliner with console shown on the reclining leather sectional in the image above.

We’re excited about this new relationship with Lane Furniture, part of the larger entity, “Furniture Brands”‘ the owners or such esteemed brands as Thomasville, Drexel Heritage, Henredon, Broyhill, and others.

Leather is a beautiful material, but its wide popularity in furniture was not built on appearance alone. Leather is specially tanned, colored and treated to withstand even the most active households.

The Reno Leather Chair

Leather has several properties which make it superior to other upholstery materials. It will not tear or easily rip, even along seam lines, unlike many fabrics used on upholstered sofas. When leather is dyed, it absorbs colors, which won’t fade, or rub off. Leather is fire resistant, and won’t emit toxic fumes, even when exposed to intense heat. Also, modern leather will not crack, or peel; instead it stretches and retains its shape without sagging.

There’s nothing quite like the rich smell and feel of leather. Leather will breathe and assume body temperature rapidly making it comfortable quickly. Leather also ages well, is simple to maintain and doesn’t require any special solvents.

It’s healthier! Fabric can attract allergens and dust mites, but leather does not. Leather is recommended by many experts, including Prevention Magazine® as a healthier alternative for your home.

Leather is a natural product, so each hide’s grain is unique, much like a human fingerprint. Natural markings such as wrinkles, scars and grain variations add character and style to leather furniture, and are indications of its natural origin.

One of the most confusing things when looking for new leather furniture can be all the terminology involved. Here is a breakdown of some of the most pertinent terms used to describe leather.

Antique Roan Artisano Leather by Leather Trend

Full aniline leather gets its name from the type of dyes that are used to produce the leather’s color. Leather hides are soaked and tumbled in large stainless steel drums containing the translucent dye. This dye is absorbed by the pores of the leather and permeates without covering natural markings, or grain variations. Leather hides dyed this way will have variations in the intensity of color because of the simple fact that some hides, or even portions of the same hide, will absorb more dye than others. Surface finish is not applied, and because of this, full aniline leathers are more absorbent, and will age differently than others. Over time, the leather will develop a rich patina finish, giving your leather furniture a natural character and beauty.

Semi-aniline leather is dyed the same way as full aniline leather, but then enters an additional step. The surface of the leather is micro-pigmented to achieve more uniform coloration and create color consistency from hide to hide. Next, a protective topcoat is also applied to provide additional resistance to soiling and fading. There are a wide variety of colors available in semi-aniline leathers and they exhibit much of the softness associated with full aniline leathers.

Corrected Semi-aniline leather are leathers in which naturally occurring imperfections are buffed, or lightly sanded before embossing the surface to achieve a more uniform grain. The dyeing process is the same as semi-aniline leather, however some softness in the leather is sacrificed as a result of the buffing process. These leathers are easy to maintain and have great fade, soil and wear resistance.

The selection at LeatherGroups.com is the biggest advantage to buying your leather furniture online. We’re able to offer more styles than a local showroom and have teamed up with some of the best manufacturers in the business to bring you high quality leather furniture at great prices. All of our leather furniture is delivered by white glove delivery providers that specialize in furniture delivery. Items are picked up factory-direct and pre-inspected by the carriers before being released for delivery to ensure your product arrives in good order. All of our product pages feature detailed descriptions, images, and dimensions. On most styles, you can request a swatch to see just how the leather will look and feel. Our trained representatives are knowledgeable about our leather furniture and can assist you in making the best, informed decision.

Convenience is king with buying leather furniture online. Unlike traditional furniture stores with limited business hours, you can access information at LeatherGroups.com anytime, from anywhere.

At LeatherGroups, we believe that buying leather furniture should be a fun, stress-free experience. With that in mind, we’ve put together a glossary of leather terms in order to make the process more enjoyable and help you to make the best, informed decision.

Leathers come in a wide variety of finishes

Aniline Dyed

The preferred method for adding color to leather using non-toxic aniline dyes. This translucent dye does not conceal markings that are part of the natural beauty of leather.

Antiquing

The process by which leather is made to appear aged. Usually done by hand, using techniques such as lubrication and sanding as well as hand staining with aniline dyes.

Bating

After deliming the leather, enzymes are used to add softness and flexibility to the hides.

Breathability

Full grain leather will breathe and adjust to temperature.

Buffing

Process for correcting leather and eliminating natural imperfections in the grain. Often times light sanding is performed, after which a more consistent grain is embossed on the leather. Buffing is also used to remove the grain to create nubuck or suede.

Chrome Tanning

A tanning process chromium sulfate and other salts of chromium, producing a more supple leather than vegetable tanning.

Combination Tanning

Leather tanned with multiple tanning agents, usually a combination of chrome and vegetable tanning, combining the benefits of both.

Corrected Grain

Leather in which the surface has been sanded, or buffed to remove imperfections, then micro-pigmented and embossed with a more uniform grain texture.

Distressed

Leather that has been treated to age the appearance.

Eight-Way Hand Tied Coils

Heavy gauge coils which are individually tied to one another from front to back, side to side and diagonally (eight ways) to provide a high level of quality, comfort and durability. An expensive process that can only be done by hand.

Embossing

The process of applying an artificial uniform grain to the surface of leather after imperfections have been lightly sanded, or buffed out.

Finishing

Application of any number of effects to leather after tanning, such as aniline dyeing, buffing, embossing, antiquing, distressing, etc.

Full Aniline

Leather which gains all of its color from being tumbled and soaked in large stainless drums with translucent aniline dyes.

Full Top Grain

Considered the best, this is leather which has been aniline dyed, but has not been mechanically altered. Natural characteristics and markings such as scars, barbed wire marks, and wrinkles are left intact and are considered to be what adds character and beauty to premium leather.

Grain

Term used to describe the patterned texture, either natural or embossed, on the surface of leather.

Hand

Used to describe the feel of softness or fullness of upholstery leather.

Hand-Antiqued

The application by hand of a darker color over a lighter color in order to create a unique aged effect.

Leather Match

A lower cost alternative to 100% leather, leather match combines top-grain leather seating with skillfully matched vinyl on the sides and back of the furniture.

Milling

The process of softening the hand, or feel, of the leather by tumbling it in a rotating drum.

Natural Markings

Naturally occurring marks on most hides such as wrinkles, scars, scratches, and insect bites. These markings are part of the natural beauty of leather and indicate its natural origin.

Nubuck

Leather in which the grain has been removed by buffing or sanding, which creates a nap, similar to suede. Because the grain is removed, Nubuck is unprotected and more susceptible to staining than other leathers.

Patina

Over time, and with use, full aniline leather will absorb moisture and oils forming a rich patina finish, much like a well worn bomber jacket.

Pigmented, or Micro-pigmenting

A type of dye that is rolled, or sprayed onto the finish of leather to provide more uniform color and protection from fading.

Protected Aniline

Aniline dyed leather which has has had the surface micro-pigmented and sealed with a transparent synthetic protective coating.

Pull-Up Leather

Leather that exhibits bursts of lighter color when stretched, or scratched, as a result of the waxes, or oils in the leather.

Pure Aniline

Leather which receives all of its coloration from tumbling and soaking in drums with aniline dyes with no surface pigmentation performed.

Sauvage

An effect achieved by any of several techniques, after which the leather exhibits a two-tone or marbled effect that creates depth to the color of leather.

Sinuous Spring

A sturdy suspension formed from heavy gauge “S-shaped” wires that run front to back, tightly spaced to one another, and secured to the frame.

Split Grain

The bottom layer of a hide after the top grain has been removed. It is also used to create suede.

Tanning

A process which converts the protein of the raw hide or skin into a stable, non-perishable material. Without tanning, leather would dry into a hard inflexible material.

Top Coat

Application of synthetic, transparent resin as a protective coating. Can be either a high gloss, or matte finish.

Top Grain

Leather hides are split into two layers, with the strongest, most supple part of the hide being the top layer, called “Top Grain”.

Vegetable Tanning

A method of tanning that uses tannins from vegetable matter, such as bark, instead of chromium salts or other compounds.

Vegetable Tannins

Tannins that are extracted from the wood, bark, and leaves of trees and are used during the Vegetable Tanning process.